


Sun-Sweet Lullaby

by Catullus_50



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: F/F, Fluff, Tumblr Prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-11
Updated: 2019-07-11
Packaged: 2020-06-26 05:02:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,306
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19761133
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Catullus_50/pseuds/Catullus_50
Summary: Cullen and Leliana are a bit overprotective of Josephine when it comes to her heart, but Inquisitor Herah Adaar is up to their challenge. Josephine overhears. Well, some of it.





	Sun-Sweet Lullaby

Josephine was hard at work untangling a headache-inducing diplomatic problem. Well, she _had_ been, until her errant gaze out the window had drifted over the practice courts below and stopped, snagged on the curling horns of one Inquisitor Herah Adaar. And _perhaps_ she had picked this room, not because of the nice breezes (though they wafted the scent of summer flowers through the castle), but for the view. Sometimes she needed a distraction, and the muscles moving under Herah’s tunic as she flowed through a complicated sword combination were very distracting. It was important to take breaks, she reasoned as she craned her head out of the window, to come at the problem with a fresh mind. Below, the Inquisitor’s biceps flexed as she tried out an overhand swing.

Josephine was pulled from her reverie by the appearance of her fellow advisors entering the courts. They were looking uncharacteristically grim; well, Leliana always seemed to be looking grim these days, and Cullen tired, but their expressions seemed... stonier than usual. They pulled Herah away from the dummies, speaking with lowered voices. They were right below her window, if a few stories down. Josephine strained to listen. Just what was so serious? And why hadn’t they spoken to her first? 

The few words she overheard were not very enlightening.

“...attachment to…”  


“...dearest friend…”  


“...innocent…”

The Inquisitor looked as confused as she felt. Cullen was speaking now, his face reddened, from temper or embarrassment she was too far away to tell. He leaned in, finger pointed.

“If you ever…"  


"…I will make sure…"  


"...every bone in your body…"  


"...what Corypheus did feel like a day in Val Royeaux!”

She glanced at Herah, who, despite the threatening words, didn’t look upset. In fact she looked almost… amused. While endeavoring to appear chastened, yes, but Jospehine would recognize that slight quirk of her mouth, even at this distance. So apparently did Leliana, who leaned up to whisper right in her ear. The bemused expression dropped. Now it was the Inquisitor who spoke, her hands dropping on each of their shoulders. 

“Don’t worry…"  


"...I promise I would never hurt…"  


"...love Josephine…”

With a start, Josephine pulled her head back from the window, pulse pounding. Oh! Oh, they had been talking about _her_. Oh, they were being... protective. She stifled a giggle. Cullen must have been very flustered to be that red. And Leliana… she wondered what she had whispered. It must have been something scary, to get that reaction. Her friend really was spooky sometimes.  


* * *

The late afternoon sun slipped sideways through the windows, bathing her desk in light. Josephine signed one last letter, and rested the pen beside the inkwell. Another crisis hopefully averted, without bloodshed. Why people couldn’t resolve their own petty disputes when the breach was literally hanging over them she didn’t know, but she supposed she should be grateful. It was better than fretting over Herah and her latest mission.

A soft knock on the door, and Leliana insinuated herself into the room, a fond smile on her face. “Was that your gold scarf I spied in the window earlier today?” It wasn’t really a question, and Josephine was _mortified_. “My dear Josephine, I _am_ the spymaster, and you haven’t exactly been subtle. Cullen caught you doodling little hearts and _sighing_ the other day.” She smiled, and Josephine hid her face behind her hands. She remembered that; she’d hoped no one had noticed.

“Josie, darling, it’s alright. We just had a little talk with our Inquisitor, to make sure there weren’t any… misunderstandings. You are one of my dearest friends, I don’t want you to be hurt.” 

Josephine raised her eyes just above her fingertips. “Just what did you say to Herah?”

Leliana’s grin turned wicked. “Well… that one will have to remain a secret. We wouldn’t want anyone to know the Inquisitor’s weaknesses. What if there were spies around?”

Josephine tried to glare back. “You would know.” Remembering what she had overheard, she flushed red again. “And who were you calling innocent? I’m hardly _innocent_. I was a bard! In Val Royeaux!”

“If you had been listening properly, I called you ‘an innocent in love’.” Leliana’s smile felt a little patronizing now. “For someone whose feet are planted so firmly on the ground, you have such a large romantic streak. It’s sweet, but someone could take advantage. I don’t want anyone to sweep you off your feet and then drop you at their convenience.”

“I appreciate the thought, truly I do Leliana, but I don’t need your protection.” She responded as firmly as she could muster. “The Inquisitor isn’t so… flighty, and I am not so delicate as to need it.” 

Leliana just waved enigmatically as she left the room, a knowing smile on her face.  


* * *

Later that evening, Inquisitor Adaar herself appeared outside Josephine’s office, just as she was putting out the candles. She ducked her head in, horns just grazing the doorframe.

“All finished for the night, Josie? I didn’t see you at supper, so I brought you a tray.” She maneuvered it through the door. The smell of roast chicken in addition to herbs and greens soup reached her, and suddenly Jospehine was ravenous. Only years of vigorously enforced etiquette training kept her from cramming an entire crusty fresh-from-the-oven roll in her mouth. Delicately, she picked up a spoon and started to eat.

“Did you already eat, darling?” She asked between bites. It was a very nice soup. She would have to make sure the chefs were well complimented.

“I try not to make a habit of skipping meals,” Herah replied, giving her a pointed look. “I’m too big. If I collapse from hunger, I’m sure to crush someone on the way down. The Inquisition would kick me out, Andraste or not.” Josephine sputtered on her spoonful, and accepted the napkin from her grinning partner, who snagged a roll.

“I thought you’d already eaten,” she said, and tried unsuccessfully to retrieve the bread. 

“I was feeling a little weak in the knees,” the Inquisitor replied, scarfing it down. “But it seems it was your beauty that did me in.” She cast her a soulful look.

Josephine blushed. “Oh, you are a terrible flirt, and you are getting crumbs all over my desk. It’s hardly fair of you to fluster me like this.” She brushed off her lap. “You do it on purpose.”

“It is very fun.” The wicked spark in Herah’s eyes faded. “So, uh, earlier today I had an interesting encounter at the practice courts.”

“Oh?” replied Josephine, attempting to appear as though she had never even heard of the practice courts at all.

“Yes, Cullen and Leliana came to have a, er, ‘talk’ with me. About you. Um. Specifically, my intentions towards you. Well, it was less a talk, and more like ‘threats’. Things along the line of, if I ever break your heart, they won’t even find my body kind of thing.” She glanced at her lover sideways. “I wanted to make sure you knew that I _am_ serious about you. I may be a flirt sometimes, but my feelings for you are genuine. I do love you, Josie”  
Josephine hands rose to cover the flush in her cheeks. “Now you’ve made me blush again. C-Cullen and Leliana, they’re just overprotective, they…” Warm, callused hands held her own, gently tugging them away from her face. One look at her expression, and Herah lifted her into her arms, and kissed her swiftly, so sweetly she thought she would swoon. Instead she buried her face in the other woman’s shoulder and whispered, “I love you too.”

“I know, sweetheart.” the Inquisitor’s voice rumbled in her ear as she was settled more comfortably against that broad chest. “Let’s go get some sleep.” She only snuggled closer, as Herah carried her off to bed.

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the Dragon Age Prompt Exchange on Tumblr: [ Prompt Here ](https://dapromptexchange.tumblr.com/post/183451498144/)


End file.
